-LRB- Mental Floss -RRB- -- Major League Baseball 's umpires are all over the news after a spate of , er , questionable calls throughout this postseason . Despite larger postseason umpiring crews that include two extra umps in the outfield , it feels like an inordinate number of calls have gone the wrong way .

All of these gaffes have prompted renewed debate about whether baseball should start using instant replay . How could umps blow this many calls that are so obvious when viewed in slow motion ? Are n't these guys trained professionals ? Are they handsomely rewarded ? What do we really know about the men in blue , anyway ?

After some spotty officiating in the NFL last fall , we did some digging on the officials in the four major sports . Here 's what we found :

They make good money

A National Football League ref can make anywhere from $ 25,000 to $ 70,000 a season , although since most of the games are on Sundays , they can also have other jobs during the week . -LRB- We 'll get to those in a minute . -RRB-

That cash comes with responsibilities , though . In addition to relaying the calls to the teams and fans , a ref is also the crew chief , or leader , of the seven-man officiating team that also includes an umpire , a field judge , a back judge , a line judge , a side judge , and a head linesman .

Officials in other sports pull down more loot , but they have much more grueling schedules ...

• Baseball . According to MLB.com , MLB umpires get around $ 120,000 when they start out in the big leagues , and senior umps can earn upwards of $ 300,000 . Between spring training , a 162-game schedule , and the postseason , being an MLB ump is a job that takes up most of the year .

They are , however , well cared-for while on the road . Each ump gets a $ 340 per diem to cover hotel and food , and when they fly , it 's always first class . Working a full postseason can tack on an extra $ 20,000 , plus expenses . They also get four weeks of paid vacation during the regular season .

These guys hang onto their jobs , too ; on average , there 's only one opening for a new big league ump each season .

• Basketball . National Basketball Association refs are similarly well compensated . They earn anywhere from $ 100,000 to $ 300,000 for an 82-game season . There are some nice fringe benefits , too ; when referee Tim Donaghy admitted to helping gamblers fix games , the NBA asked that he repay other benefits he 'd pulled in over the course of his 13-year career , including $ 750 worth of sneakers and $ 4500 worth of free tickets .

• Hockey . If you can skate and survive the occasional lockout , National Hockey League ref is hardly a bad job . Refs make between $ 110,000 and $ 255,000 while linesmen earn from $ 72,000 to $ 162,000 . Mental Floss : Stories behind all 30 NHL team names

NFL refs have day jobs

Since NFL refs only work one day each week , they can have `` real '' jobs to supplement what they earn on any given Sunday . Some of them actually have pretty interesting jobs .

• Mike Carey , my personal favorite ref , is an entrepreneur and inventor who holds eight patents for snow sports apparel . He founded and co-owns Seirus Innovation , a ski apparel company .

• Walt Coleman is infamous in Oakland for being the ref in the `` Tuck Rule Game , '' but he 's also a fifth-generation dairy farmer who once held the position of president of the Arkansas Dairy Products Association .

• Walter Anderson became an official in the league in 1996 and got the promotion to referee in 2003 . Prior to becoming a referee , he was better known as Dr. Walt Anderson , a dentist .

• Tony Corrente is probably used to dealing with unruly crowds of guys from his day job as a high-school social studies teacher .

• If Jeff Triplette seems hard to scare on the field , it 's probably because he 's seen worse . He was an Army Reserve colonel during the Persian Gulf War , where he was awarded a bronze star . Mental Floss : What 's with those AFL throwback uniforms ?

• Bill Leavy is similarly tough ; he spent 27 years as a police officer and firefighter in San Jose .

• Ron Winter 's not just a ref , he 's also an associate professor in Western Michigan University 's phys . ed . department .

• Gene Steratore must love how he looks in stripes . In addition to being an NFL ref , he officiates NCAA hoops games and has drawn March Madness assignments in previous seasons .

• And when Ed Hochuli is n't officiating a game -LRB- or working out -RRB- , you might find him in a courtroom . He 's a trial lawyer in the Arizona firm Jones , Skelton , and Hochuli , which employs over 80 attorneys .

It 's a long climb to the top

How does one become a ref ? Most of these guys have humble beginnings as officials . Carey started officiating Pop Warner games in 1972 and gradually worked his way up through the college ranks . Eventually , he became an NFL side judge in 1990 and received a promotion to NFL referee , the pinnacle of football officiating , in 1995 .

Hochuli started as a Pop Warner ref in the early 1970s ; he was a law school student who needed a little extra pocket cash . He then slowly made his way up through high school , junior college , and small conference college ball before getting a Pac-10 gig . He eventually made it to the NFL in 1990 . It 's a slow build , but if you stick it out long enough and have some natural talent , you can be the one patting his head to signal an ineligible receiver downfield .

Still not convinced it 's a tough ride ? In a recent op-ed in The New York Times , former baseball commissioner Fay Vincent cited the paltry salaries for minor-league umps : just $ 9500 for a five-month season for junior umpires , and only $ 20,000 a season for guys who have risen all the way to Triple A ball . Mental Floss : 31 unbelievable high school mascots

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NFL ref makes from $ 25,000 to $ 70,000 a season , working mostly Sundays

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Other jobs held by some NFL refs include farmer , inventor and dentist

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MLB.com says umpires get about $ 120,000 when they start out in the big league

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NBA refs earn anywhere from $ 100,000 to $ 300,000 for an 82-game season